From Untapped Potential to Fully Optimized Digital Engagement

Facing limited internal bandwidth and an underutilized Luminate Online platform, the Jesuit East Province partnered with Blackbaud Advisory+ to reimagine its digital fundraising and engagement strategy, guided by dedicated product experts who help organizations unlock the full potential of their software.

Chief Development Officer Loual Puliafito had long relied on Luminate Online as his core digital fundraising platform, integrated with Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT. Over time, however, increasing responsibilities left little capacity to fully optimize the platform. Donation forms and the mass card eCommerce experience were not performing to their full potential, and the digital journey was not effectively guiding donors from one-time gifts to lasting commitment.

While Puliafito explored third-party tools, they consistently fell short—particularly when it came to seamless data integration with Raiser’s Edge NXT. Instead, he recognized the opportunity to maximize the capabilities already within the Blackbaud ecosystem.

What followed was a hands-on partnership that transformed how Jesuit East engages benefactors across every digital touchpoint. The collaboration led to a refreshed eCommerce store ahead of the critical holiday season, redesigned donation forms optimized for recurring giving, a mobile-friendly gala registration experience, and automated stewardship workflows that strengthened donor relationships. The team also launched a successful giving day—built entirely within Luminate Online.

“I didn’t need another system—I needed the time and expertise to use the one we already had in a more thoughtful, strategic way,” said Puliafito. “Advisory+ helped us think beyond basic donation and event strategies to focus on donor engagement, processes, and how to turn one-time supporters into lifelong partners.”

Revitalizing Digital Fundraising with
Blackbaud Advisory+

The Advisory+ team began with discovery conversations to understand Jesuits East’s primary goals, then developed a year-long roadmap to guide the work. With an initial biweekly cadence that later shifted to monthly check-ins, the partnership maintained flexibility to adapt priorities as needs evolved.

The first project focused on the province’s eCommerce store for mass cards and religious items. The team rebranded and relaunched the experience within weeks, just ahead of the critical Thanksgiving-to-New Year’s giving season. Beyond the visual refresh, Advisory+ optimized back-end workflows so key details like card type, recipient name, and personalization instructions were automatically routed to staff, eliminating manual handoffs. The updated store also became a new acquisition channel, capturing full contact information from new constituents entering through social and web traffic. The improvements helped drive a 20 percent increase during the Christmas season and encouraged donors who previously mailed in orders or called the office to complete their transactions online.

With the eCommerce experience live, attention turned to the donation form. The previous version had become outdated and ineffective at encouraging monthly giving. “The new donation form is simplified, clear, and easy to grasp. The brand is there, the feeling is there, and that movement of the gift is so important,” said Puliafito. The redesign reduced unnecessary fields, shortened the form, improved mobile friendliness, and elevated recurring giving options. The impact was immediate: during the next appeal, the province saw an increase in recurring gifts, helping convert more one-time donors into sustainers.

Finally, the province’s signature annual gala received a major upgrade. At the previous gala, the province welcomed 500 guests and raised $1.7 million. With the new event registration page in place, this year’s gala grew to 600 guests and raised just over $3 million.

Puliafito said he finally had an event registration experience that matched the caliber of the event. “The registration form displays the sponsorship levels so clearly—each in their own square—making it easy to navigate what level you are and what you get, even on a mobile device. This experience checked all the right boxes for us,” he said. The redesigned experience streamlined the layout, improved accessibility, made complex sponsorship tiers easy to scan across devices, and increased the number of online registrants compared with mailed-in responses.

Building Toward Sustained Giving

Next, the team built a custom giving day experience for Province Day, the province’s annual celebration. The interactive landing page featured thermometer-style progress trackers across four focus areas—senior care, formation, vocations, and office support—along with dynamic elements like confetti animations and tailored donation paths. The inaugural campaign raised more than $200,000.

Building on that momentum, Puliafito is now focused on deploying new core donation forms designed to further streamline the giving experience. The province plans to feature these updated forms in its upcoming giving day and end-of-fiscal-year campaigns, both of which will drive substantial traffic to the site.

“The giving day landing page tells such a powerful story—when you can see how many people each month believe in this cause,” Puliafito said. “Luminate makes that very easy.”

Beyond forms and campaigns, the Advisory+ partnership has enabled automated stewardship workflows entirely within Luminate Online. Personalized thank-you emails featuring a video message are sent to donors two weeks after their gift, drawing them back to a dedicated page that acknowledges their contribution by name. Birthday greeting automations provide another touchpoint, reinforcing relationships year-round without requiring third-party tools. The team plans to continue enhancing the eCommerce experience and refining Giving Day using the new donation designs to maximize sustainer conversions. “I wish I had Advisory+ a long time ago,” Puliafito said. “I’m very grateful for the work we’ve done, and I can’t wait to see where we go next.”